Japanese PM rules out possibility of collective self-defense
4/11/2008 15:35
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso today ruled out the possibility of
enabling Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense, Kyodo News
reported.
The move, which reversed his previous opinions, came after General
Toshio Tamogami, the Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff, was sacked Friday
over his controversial essay, which asserted that Japan should be allowed to
exercise the right to collective self-defense and possess "offensive weaponry,"
and denied Japan's aggression against other Asian countries during World War
II.
After taking office in September, Aso advocated changing the government's
interpretation of the pacifist Constitution to allow its forces to exercise the
right to collective self-defense, saying "...basically the interpretation (of
the Constitution) should be changed" and "the matter of the right to collective
self-defense is important."
Xinhua
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